Most fertilizer is now applied to farmlands in bands. These bands vary in spacing between 7 and 16 inches. An agronomist will always take soil samples to determine the extent of residual fertilizer in the soil prior to making recommendations on fertilizer application. The soil samples are taken using a coring method at a plurality of points on the farmland. It is recognized that the existence of banding will tend to distort the validity of the samples obtained. If few samples are taken there is a possibility that the majority of the samples will be either on or between the fertilizer residue bands. It is for this reason that multiple samples are taken. It is recommended that the samples number a minimum of 12 and preferably 20 or more; however time constraints often dictate that the agronomist take less than the optimum number of samples.